Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has emphasised the need to incentivise medical personnel in Nigeria to prevent them from migrating abroad.
Speaking at the commissioning of the renovated Yariman Bakura Specialist Hospital on Tuesday in Zamfara State, Obasanjo lamented the “Japa” phenomenon, where Nigerian youths, including medical professionals, leave the country in search of better opportunities.
He noted that it was not enough for the governments at federal, sub-national and local levels to build health centres; they must provide the necessary equipment and remuneration to incentivise health workers.
He emphasised the importance of creating a conducive work environment to retain medical personnel.
Obasanjo commended Governor Dauda Lawal for renovating the hospital and providing necessary equipment, especially when many Nigerians who have been trained as medical personnel are japaing, which is going out of the country to look for better conditions.
”But how do you hold them here without giving them a bit of incentive? You have to.
“We need all the personnel that we can have because our hospitals have to deliver. You need the right environment and that is the refurbishing and the renovation but you need the right equipment and then you need the personnel.
“I am happy that you have brought them all together and let us make good use of them, ” he said.
He highlighted the importance of healthcare delivery and the need for well-equipped hospitals and motivated personnel.
The outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB),
Akinwumi Adesina, had also lamented the “Japa” phenomenon, warning that Africa should not lose its demographic asset due to lack of investment in young people.
Adesina emphasised the need to believe in and invest in young people’s ideas to create quality jobs and drive continental prosperity .
”We have over 465 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35,” he said, warning that Africa should not turn what should be its demographic asset into “somebody else’s problem” due to the inability to believe in young people and invest in their ideas for continental prosperity.
“I do not believe that the future of our young people lies in Europe; it doesn’t lie in America, it doesn’t lie in Canada, Japan or China; it should lie in Africa growing well, growing robustly and able to create quality jobs for our young people,” he had said.
